The Infernal Machine Review: Guy Pearce Anchors A Twisty Thriller That Can't Quite Stick The Landing
For better and worse, there's more than meets the eye in "The Infernal Machine."
The ever-reliable Guy Pearce shines as the haunted Bruce Cogburn, a reclusive writer hiding out in Southern California over twenty years after first hitting the bestseller lists for his breakthrough novel, "The Infernal Machine." The traumatic reasons why he's shunned the world and never written a single follow-up to such an influential novel remain at the forefront of the story, thanks to the chilling cold open narration of a (seemingly unrelated) decades-old crime, and especially the disturbing deluge of letters sent to Cogburn from an obsessive fan. Pushed far enough to actually call up the mysterious William DuKent and leave a polite-but-firm message asking to be left alone, the script steadily turns the screws until the hidden danger of Cogburn's fixated and unseen admirer practically fills each frame.
Written and directed by Andrew Hunt and based...
The ever-reliable Guy Pearce shines as the haunted Bruce Cogburn, a reclusive writer hiding out in Southern California over twenty years after first hitting the bestseller lists for his breakthrough novel, "The Infernal Machine." The traumatic reasons why he's shunned the world and never written a single follow-up to such an influential novel remain at the forefront of the story, thanks to the chilling cold open narration of a (seemingly unrelated) decades-old crime, and especially the disturbing deluge of letters sent to Cogburn from an obsessive fan. Pushed far enough to actually call up the mysterious William DuKent and leave a polite-but-firm message asking to be left alone, the script steadily turns the screws until the hidden danger of Cogburn's fixated and unseen admirer practically fills each frame.
Written and directed by Andrew Hunt and based...
- 9/20/2022
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
(Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the Season 1 finale of “The Masked Dancer.”)
“The Masked Dancer” crowned Gabby Douglas, aka Cotton Candy, its Season 1 winner Wednesday, a contestant who was a pretty solid bet to take home the gold — er, diamond — trophy heading into the two-hour finale. But as fans probably remember, the gymnast’s time on the Fox dancing competition started off a little rocky after she fell during an early rehearsal.
Since this is the first time TheWrap was able to speak with Cotton Candy about the experience — now that she’s won “The Masked Dancer” and been unmasked — we asked the Olympic gold medalist to break down how she handled that accident, which ended up being a big clue for the judges.
“The ring was spinning really fast and I wanted to just make everything really light and really airy and dramatic, like a beautiful song,...
“The Masked Dancer” crowned Gabby Douglas, aka Cotton Candy, its Season 1 winner Wednesday, a contestant who was a pretty solid bet to take home the gold — er, diamond — trophy heading into the two-hour finale. But as fans probably remember, the gymnast’s time on the Fox dancing competition started off a little rocky after she fell during an early rehearsal.
Since this is the first time TheWrap was able to speak with Cotton Candy about the experience — now that she’s won “The Masked Dancer” and been unmasked — we asked the Olympic gold medalist to break down how she handled that accident, which ended up being a big clue for the judges.
“The ring was spinning really fast and I wanted to just make everything really light and really airy and dramatic, like a beautiful song,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
The 2020 Berlin Film Festival, the first edition under new artistic director Carlo Chatrian, has unveiled its first wave of titles.
Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio, starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the festival as a Berlinale Special Gala. The team have removed the ‘out of competition’ classification this year and those films will now play as Special Galas. Pinocchio is released theatrically in Italy this weekend and Berlin will mark its festival premiere.
“Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before,” commented Carlo Chatrian on the selection.
Also announced today were four films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program, which presents debut features. The section will open with Kids Run from Barbara Ott, whose graduation...
Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio, starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the festival as a Berlinale Special Gala. The team have removed the ‘out of competition’ classification this year and those films will now play as Special Galas. Pinocchio is released theatrically in Italy this weekend and Berlin will mark its festival premiere.
“Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before,” commented Carlo Chatrian on the selection.
Also announced today were four films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program, which presents debut features. The section will open with Kids Run from Barbara Ott, whose graduation...
- 12/17/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
"Lay down your weapons. It is futile." Another creepy new horror short to feature this week just in time for Halloween. Wandering Soul is the latest short film made by filmmaker Josh Tanner, based in Australia, along with writer/producer Jade van der Lei. The same team that made the other very successful short films The Landing and The Rizzle and Reverse (from last year). Their new one is a Vietnam War set supernatural horror that is inspired by creepy, true events. Starring Lap Phan, Henry Vo, and Cuong Nguyen. This short relies heavily on intricate sound design and intensely creepy atmospherics to unsettle you. Tanner's shorts are always on a whole other level when it comes to quality and execution, and this one is just as good. Thanks to Josh for the tip on this debut. Original description from Vimeo: "During the Vietnam War, a Viet Cong soldier...
- 10/31/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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